Fuddruckers in St. Louis

While I know that it is a chain and that it was started in Texas, Fuddruckers is a St. Louis thing.  There is only one location in all of St. Louis and it has been off of Watson for as long as I can remember.  If you have never been there, or if you have been with John Carter on Mars, it is a burger place with your usual and unusual fare.  Fuddruckers was designed as a burger restaurant and lets you order your burger as it is cooked to order, the way you like it.  The buns are made from scratch and cooked in the same location.  There is also a bar for all of the 'fixings' so after you get your burger, you can put whatever you want on top: tomatoes, lettuce, chilies, etc.

The fries are cut and cooked well, the sweet potato fries are sweet and tasty and the onion rings have a nice crisp to them.  Nothing is without flavor.  Besides having your choice of a 1/3rd, 1/2 or 2/3rds pound all 100% beef hamburger cooked to order and never frozen, you can also choose from some exotic meats: buffalo, elk or even wild boar.  The exotic meats have a completely different texture and fat ratio so they make for a great and different tasting burger.  You still get access to everything you need for your meal.  There is also a large assortment of sauces, from nacho cheese sauce to a St. Louis style BBQ sauce.  What I also admire about Fuddruckers, is that unlike other burger places, they offer Malt Vinegar for your fries.  Malt Vinegar is a simple thing I learned to love during a trip to Ireland and I have loved it and noticed how it is coming up in popularity in St. Louis; especially European style pubs in St. Louis like McGuirk's.  

So, I ordered a simple 1/3rd pound burger and fries and this is what it looks like.  Do you see something different?  See those black marks on the burger?  Those are areas that have been affected by a Mallard reaction: aka: heat has touched and caramelized the natural sugars in the meat, thus giving this browning effect.  This is the indication that unlike other places that server burgers and fries and other "fast food", this location does not get frozen patties and microwave them.  These are real and cooked on a hot grill.

Well, how well does a hamburger stack compared to other burger places?  Well, I think it is better than McDonalds, better than Ruby Tuesdays, better than Burger King, Sonic or even Steak n' Shake.  I think it can be on par with 5 Guys.  I have to say that for what it is, which is just 100% beef, no special cuts, no Wagu ground steak or Kobe beef, it is good burger.  You can rely on it to always be a good burger.